Welcome to the Western New York Chapter of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association website. We are combat veterans from all branches of the United States Armed Forces who ride motorcycles as a hobby.

Our mission is to support and defend those who have defended our country and our freedoms. Our focus is to help veteran care facilities provide a warm meal, clothing, shelter, and guidance, or simply to say "Thank You." and "Welcome Home."

Our membership is comprised of Full Members (those with verified combat service ) and Supporter Members ( those who have non-combat military service, and have a sincere dedication to helping veterans ). Our national organization has members from nearly all 50 states plus some still living abroad. Many members continue to serve in our Armed Forces including several currently serving in combat zones.

We sponsor and/or participate in many motorcycle-related charity events each year, and as a non-profit organization, donate to various veteran care facilities and veteran charities.

ABOUT 19-6

The Western New York Chapter 19-6 started when 2 members of the Mountain Chapter 19-2 ("Preacher" and "Buddah") started identifying and recruiting members in the Rochester/Buffalo region. In 2013 we stood up as a detachment of the Mountain Chapter and in the summer of 2014 we stood up as a full chapter.

Our membership now includes vets from Buffalo to Auburn, Lake Ontario all the way down to the Pennsylvania line.

In 1999, the Combat Vets Motorcycle Club (CVMC) established a presence on the Internet. Up until the first part of 2001 they were led to believe it was an established motorcycle organization. Unfortunately they found out that CVMC was an internet scam to milk money from combat veterans.

In the early months of 2001 many of the members found out about this scam and alerted one another. Since they were all interested in veterans' issues, 45 members decided to form a local Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association (CVMA). The CVMA was established as a non profit Association on or about May 1, 2001 with the objective of helping Veterans. Two things brought them together--riding motorcycles and being veterans from combat zones or theaters.

The Patches

In May of 2001 the CVMA adopted the CVMA/VFW patch. This was done with with permission of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) as all CVMA members were or became VFW members and were entitled to wear the VFW patch. Over the next year and a half the CVMA was well accepted at Post and Division levels with the VFW. Many meetings, conversations and letters were exchanged over this period and while the VFW National organization always sounded positive it never developed into an official relationship. The patch featured the full VFW crest in red, blue and gold on the black and gold CVMA background.

In December 2002 the CVMA membership voted to move on towards an independent organization. As such, the requirement of VFW membership was dropped opening CVMA membership to all combat veterans who ride a motorcycle.

On December 15, 2002 it was voted the CVMA would wear a combination of the CVMA background and the old skull logo from the CVMC as a one piece patch. The resulting patch incorporates the following colors: Red, representing the blood that has been shed on the battlefield.; Military Gold, representing the many ethnic backgrounds of all nations; and Black, representing the heavy hearts possessed for those who gave their lives and for those that are considered missing in action or prisoners of war. The Skull and the ace of spades represent the death that war leaves in its wake. This patch is worn by Full Members only.

A variation on the full members patch is available for both auxiliary members (a spouse, widow or widower of a full member, see "By-Laws") and support members (motorcyclist veterans who did not serve in a combat zone). Although neither of the groups can hold a position on the CVMA Board or vote on CVMA business, their contributions are invaluable to the Association's mission to promote motorcycling and support veterans.

Lastly, founding members of the CVMA wear an additional patch indicative of their status as one of the "Original 45". The "Original 45" patch retains many characteristics of the Combat Vets Motorcycle Club (CVMC) patch: gold Chinese calligraphic text on a green background bordered in red.

The New York Chapter

The New York Chapter of CVMA was officially formed in late 2006.

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